The goal of MetaSki is to bring skiing out of the grip of superficial commercialism and to present people with a true Personal Development platform that is second to none.

Teaching

All Levels. Maximum of 4 advised for any group (One-on-one coaching giving the best results). It is usually best to separate parents and children but all of the above can be adapted for flexibility with family groups.

MetaSkiThere are many creative ways to engage life as an open and ongoing development process. Skiing just amplifies this quality through the presence of a stunning environment and direct challenges to our emotions and unconscious behaviour. The goal of MetaSki is to bring skiing out of the grip of superficial commercialism and to present people with a true Personal Development platform that is second to none.

Off Piste Guiding

Only the most responsible, safe and experienced guiding.Skier ability level is respected and determines where we ski. Some instruction or feedback is given when necessary but this is a ski period not a lesson. (Maximum of 6 in a group)

Race Training

Race Training is available all seasons - summer included (Glacier)Preparation for ski instructor Eurotest.

skiing being a major Personal Development platform - in a stunning natural environment that no martial art can come close to.

All sessions are accompanied with a permanent multimedia report - video, photo and detailed

Resources

A highly detailed database of MetaSki technical information and case examples is provided on the dedicated blog.This includes accurate videos of on-snow demos and hundreds of other videos, one of which is used below. The MetaSki principles are covered in full detail on the blog and more will be added as an ongoing development . My apologies in advance for the shakiness of the filming below... Filmed in Tignes.

HOURS / RATES

BOOKING

Family or group bookings can be extremely cost effective and give you great flexibility. The instructor is paid for his/her time, so you can organise your group or family to suit everyone. We are often fully booked well in advance withreturning clients and their friends or familiesso please think to contact us well in advance ofyour holiday.

OFF PISTE GUIDING

Maximum of 6 people for security.Avalanche transceivers supplied Full security packs and Air Bags can be rented.Skier level and fitness is respected Technical Off Piste sessions are available for all levels from initiate to highly experienced.

Personal Development in Skiing

Ian Beveridge

skischool.com

MetaSki System

Philosophy

Skiingforsomeisarealpassion,butforthemajorityitisoftengreatsourceoffrustration,fearanddissatisfaction.How many people do you know who tried skiing but never really got going (Only around 10% of people try more than once) or soon ceased to progress on reaching a stubborn learning "plateau"? There are the endless accounts of injuries, fatigue (not just from late night partying) and useless ”Follow Me” instructors who either can't or won't communicate. We are all familiar with the classic terrified reluctant woman who has just come along to please her sporty partner or the tentative beginner taken to the very top of the mountain by an over-enthusiastic friend - who of course can already ski. Practically everyone puts all of this down to a natural and normal part of the skiing experience but what if this perception is wrong?What if all of those problems are totally avoidable and mastering bumps and deep Off-Piste were shown to be part of a simple, easy, clear and rewarding development process that begins on day one, for both children and adults? That changes everything. That is what we do and why we are different. We change everything!Standard national ski instruction systems worldwide are universally based upon a dangerous misunderstanding of physics and mechanics. Those errors generate a set of instructions passed on by every trained instructor that leads directly to all of the problems mentioned above. Frustrated skiers eventually avoid coaching altogether or simply defer to authority and blame themselves for those problems. Most people however suspect that something just doesn't quite make sense. They are right. Many accomplished athletes from other sports are astonished to encounter great difficulty in skiing. What they don't realise is that this should never happen. Very few people continue with coaching as adults because they only ever hear the same unproductive information along with corrections and “problem solving” repeated over again. Meanwhile progress remains stubbornly elusive and they are offered no new insights.The Meta-Ski system used in the British American Val d’Isère Ski School has continued to evolve since being founded in 1995. There is a vast store of information with complete technical explanations, video and photographic support available on the subject in the “ski instruction” blog here: skiinstruction.blogspot.com While it is possible to self-teach from this material it is also extremely important to have coaching for accurate feedback. The reality is that people only really integrate the information properly with one-on-one coaching on snow.Teaching takes place on a progressive scale - with no "change of technique" to get to another level. Whether you are a first day beginner or aiming for 80 F.I.S. points on the international racing scene so as to qualify to become an instructor, the principles and teaching remain the same. The more you learn the more you discover there is to learn - and your teachers are only different from you in that they are learning faster. There is no"expert" who knows it all - that is an illusion.Meta-Ski principles teach the fact that all skiing requires the same fundamental movements. Skiing sheet ice requires the underlying motions as skiing powder. There are only two different overall movements existing and that’s because each ski has two edges. The skier must try to avoid “balance” - the key to ease and success being in dynamics and disequilibrium. From those easy to grasp principles any skier can rapidly learn to handle the varying mountain environment. There is no mystery to “Off-Piste” or “Slalom” if the fundamentals are correct. Beginners are not even taught a snowplough - they are taught to skate instead - learning how to move the centre of mass to control direction and stopping, right from day one. Our approach to teaching is to have three separate categories (as well as child/adult separation when possible). It is stressed that this is related to environment, not technique - which remains essentially unchanging but adapting. The categories are Technical Skiing, Technical Off-Piste and High Adventure Guiding. Within those categories individual experience and fitness are respected.For Off-Piste the Personal Development side can simply involve going beyond your perceived limits in snow and terrain that you have never experienced before. During on-piste coaching limits are constantly expanded in a very different way as perceptions are challenged and altered. Counter-intuitive, conscious and mindful movements take the place of emotionally driven defensive instincts. Whereas standard teaching only reinforces destructive defensive instincts, Meta-Ski principles develop a completely new set of natural skills that work to protect both the body and mind.

MetaSki- The Story

Based in “l’Espace Killy”,

Tarentaise, Savoie.

Providing a uinquely high

standard of teaching.

Placing your Personal

Development in Skiing

foremost.

Ian

is

a

Scottish

engineer

who

came

to

skiing

as

a

young

adult,

speaks

fluent

French

and

has

earned

both

the

highest

British

qualification

(BASI

ISTD)

and

French

equivalence

(

Diplome

National

Brevet d’Etat Ski Alpin

).

After

trainin

g

and

teaching

in

several

countries

and

seeing

ski

teaching

through

the

experienced

eyes

of

an

engineer,

Ian

realised

that

all

"national"

teaching

systems

were

uniformly

fundamentally

flawed.

Initially

developed

to

handle

a

commercial

mass

market

consisting

of

large

groups

of

12

beginners

those

systems

remain

permanently

based

upon

seriously

dysfunctional

mechanics.

Stand

12

people

dead

still

in

a

snowplough

and

they

can

be

handled

-

but

they

will

be

forever

defensive.

Tell

them

to

“balance”

and

they

will

not

dare

move

correctly

-

ever!

Teach

this

way

and

you

generate

only

problems

that

can

never

be

untangled

-

entrapped

by

defensive

emotions,

reinforced

by

defensive,

inappropriate movements.

Seeing

people

being

significantly

frightened,

discouraged

and

injured

by

standard

teaching

Ian

(at

great

personal

cost)

refused

to

use

those

methods

any

longer

and

started

again

from

scratch

to

work

out

a

genuine

solution.

This

was

the

birth

of

the

MetaSki

System

(1995)

-

a

scientific

approach

to

skiing

that

truly

compliments

body

mechanics:

It

uses

dynamics

(opposite

of

balance)

and

skating

(opposite

of

snowplough)

as

a

base.

Freedom

of

movement

also

frees

the

mind

from

the

tyranny

of

emotions

and

builds

skill

safely

and

amazingly

rapidly

-

with

no

artificial

limit

to

the

level

or

potential

application.

The

door

spontaneously

opens

to

skiing

being

a

major

Personal

Development

platform

-

in

a

stunning

natural

environment

that

no

martial

art

can come close to.

ResourcesA highly detailed database of MetaSki technical information and case examples is provided on the dedicated blog.This includes accurate videos of on-snow demos and hundreds of other videos, one of which is used below. The MetaSki principles are covered in full detail on the blog and more will be added as an ongoing development . My apologies in advance for the shakiness of the filming below... Filmed in Tignes.

MetaSkiThere are many creative ways to engage life as an open and ongoing development process. Skiing just amplifies this quality through the presence of a stunning environment and direct challenges to our emotions and unconscious behaviour. The goal of MetaSki is to bring skiing out of the grip of superficial commercialism and to present people with a true Personal Development platform that is second to none.

Teaching

All Levels. Maximum of 4 advised for any group (One-on-one coaching giving the best results). It is usually best to separate parents and children but all of the above can be adapted for flexibility with family groups.

Off Piste Guiding

Only the most responsible, safe and experienced guiding.Skier ability level is respected and determines where we ski. Some instruction or feedback is given when necessary but this is a ski period not a lesson. (Maximum of 6 in a group)

Race Training

Race Training is available all seasons - summer included (Glacier)Preparation for ski instructor Eurotest.

Personal Development in Skiing

HOURS / RATES

BOOKING

Family or group bookings can be extremely cost effective and give you great flexibility. The instructor is paid for his/her time, so you can organise your group or family to suit everyone. We are often fully booked well in advance withreturning clients and their friends or familiesso please think to contact us well in advance ofyour holiday.

OFF PISTE GUIDING

Maximum of 6 people for security.Avalanche transceivers supplied Full security packs and Air Bags can be rented.Skier level and fitness is respected Technical Off Piste sessions are available for all levels from initiate to highly experienced.

Ian Beveridge

skischool.com

MetaSki System

Philosophy

Skiingforsomeisarealpassion,butforthemajorityitisoftengreatsourceoffrustration,fearanddissatisfaction.How many people do you know who tried skiing but never really got going (Only around 10% of people try more than once) or soon ceased to progress on reaching a stubborn learning "plateau"? There are the endless accounts of injuries, fatigue (not just from late night partying) and useless ”Follow Me” instructors who either can't or won't communicate. We are all familiar with the classic terrified reluctant woman who has just come along to please her sporty partner or the tentative beginner taken to the very top of the mountain by an over-enthusiastic friend - who of course can already ski. Practically everyone puts all of this down to a natural and normal part of the skiing experience but what if this perception is wrong?What if all of those problems are totally avoidable and mastering bumps and deep Off-Piste were shown to be part of a simple, easy, clear and rewarding development process that begins on day one, for both children and adults? That changes everything. That is what we do and why we are different. We change everything!Standard national ski instruction systems worldwide are universally based upon a dangerous misunderstanding of physics and mechanics. Those errors generate a set of instructions passed on by every trained instructor that leads directly to all of the problems mentioned above. Frustrated skiers eventually avoid coaching altogether or simply defer to authority and blame themselves for those problems. Most people however suspect that something just doesn't quite make sense. They are right. Many accomplished athletes from other sports are astonished to encounter great difficulty in skiing. What they don't realise is that this should never happen. Very few people continue with coaching as adults because they only ever hear the same unproductive information along with corrections and “problem solving” repeated over again. Meanwhile progress remains stubbornly elusive and they are offered no new insights.The Meta-Ski system used in the British American Val d’Isère Ski School has continued to evolve since being founded in 1995. There is a vast store of information with complete technical explanations, video and photographic support available on the subject in the “ski instruction” blog here: skiinstruction.blogspot.com While it is possible to self-teach from this material it is also extremely important to have coaching for accurate feedback. The reality is that people only really integrate the information properly with one-on-one coaching on snow.Teaching takes place on a progressive scale - with no "change of technique" to get to another level. Whether you are a first day beginner or aiming for 80 F.I.S. points on the international racing scene so as to qualify to become an instructor, the principles and teaching remain the same. The more you learn the more you discover there is to learn - and your teachers are only different from you in that they are learning faster. There is no"expert" who knows it all - that is an illusion.Meta-Ski principles teach the fact that all skiing requires the same fundamental movements. Skiing sheet ice requires the underlying motions as skiing powder. There are only two different overall movements existing and that’s because each ski has two edges. The skier must try to avoid “balance” - the key to ease and success being in dynamics and disequilibrium. From those easy to grasp principles any skier can rapidly learn to handle the varying mountain environment. There is no mystery to “Off-Piste” or “Slalom” if the fundamentals are correct. Beginners are not even taught a snowplough - they are taught to skate instead - learning how to move the centre of mass to control direction and stopping, right from day one. Our approach to teaching is to have three separate categories (as well as child/adult separation when possible). It is stressed that this is related to environment, not technique - which remains essentially unchanging but adapting. The categories are Technical Skiing, Technical Off-Piste and High Adventure Guiding. Within those categories individual experience and fitness are respected.For Off-Piste the Personal Development side can simply involve going beyond your perceived limits in snow and terrain that you have never experienced before. During on-piste coaching limits are constantly expanded in a very different way as perceptions are challenged and altered. Counter-intuitive, conscious and mindful movements take the place of emotionally driven defensive instincts. Whereas standard teaching only reinforces destructive defensive instincts, Meta-Ski principles develop a completely new set of natural skills that work to protect both the body and mind.

PRESS REVIEW The Sunday Telegraph

by Mark Law

Subject: Ian Beveridge: BASI ISTD

& Diplome National Brevet d’Etat

Ski Alpin

Mark Law (Telegraph Economics Journalist) took up skiing 10 years ago in his forties and soon hit the plateau. But then he met an inspirational teacher and his technique improved dramatically.You are an intermediate skier with a modest ambition. Obviously you’d prefer to ski like a dream, but for now you’d settle for substantial improvement. Last season I achieved just that becoming more controlled and faster than I’d ever been. In addition, I could ski for longer with much less effort and I knew I was doing it better because my boots didn’t hurt anymore.I can only claim a modest part in this transformation: the credit must go to an impassioned, maverick Scots ski instructor called Ian Beveridge. I first met Ian at the foot of the slopes at Val d’Isère, though his MetaSki leaflet had already caught my eye in the tourist office. He spoke about the teaching of skiing with the fervour of a revolutionary, which is, indeed, very much how he sees himself.HIS METHOD USES A DAZZLING MIX OF SCIENCE, PHILOSOPHY AND PERSONAL ODYSSEY“There is practically nothing that’s right in conventional teaching,” Ian proclaimed, seemingly oblivious of the fact that the bar was crowded with instructors ...(edited). Beveridge railed against what he described as the “teaching establishment”. “Even instructors at top national level don’t understand basic ski mechanics,” he complained before going on to explain his new teaching method using a dazzling mix of science and personal odyssey.As it happens, I am a bit of a sucker for “revolutionary methods” because I came to skiing late and was shocked by the laziness of conventional teaching. To sign up with the ...(edited)... ski schools had proved a lottery and I always seemed to get the dud instructors. They were idle or uninterested, and their English was usually woeful.I had also tried independent companies and individual instructors; they were better but often quite whacky. One chap made me ski with my eyes shut and another one had me skiing with my boot clips open. I fell over a lot, which was fine, but my skiing didn’t seem to get much better.... Then I encountered Ian. At our meeting I realised he could certainly do the talk, but could he make me ski better? When we arranged to meet the following afternoon, he asked me to bring Snowblades. I’d never been on the things before, and I was reluctant. He reassured me that I’d have no trouble and it would speed up the learning.I was hooked from the start. The blades were a delight (I implore anyone who hasn’t tried them to have a go). Ian’s teaching made sense even though it contradicted much of what I’d been taught: do not face downhill constantly because it blocks the flow of movement - always follow the skis around to an appropriate degree; do not sink down to plant the pole to complete the turn and rise to turn around it - instead, rise to complete the turn, touching the pole in the snow between turns when upright for stability as you prepare to incline into the next turn; do not stand on the front of the foot or over the arch - work mainly from the heel and drive the ski forwards.Reducing his teaching to a few points in cold print does not do it justice, but it gives a sense of how it contradicts so much of the prevailing thinking. I spent the next day practising what I’d learnt, and then had three further hours of teaching, this time on short carving skis.Personal despair drove Ian Beveridge to devise his method. He had spent two years studying and training to get his French instructor’s qualifications. “I did my theory,” he says, “I knew it better than anyone else but I could not get the Capacité” - the notorious speed test which so many would-be instructors not born on the mountain fail. “I’d spent a lot of money and time, I had top race coaching, but I just couldn’t do it. Then one day, in despair, I rethought the problem and started thinking about ice-skating technique. On my next test I abandoned everything I’d been taught: I went down the hill like a rocket and passed the slalom.”Ian Beveridge is helping others to master the Capacité. He has had a success already with Phil Harrison, a 25 year old from Manchester, who now has professional status in France. “Ian is a remarkable teacher,” he says. “He teaches you how to use your body and harness natural movements to get fantastic results. So Harrison, who a short time ago as a two-week-a-year skier, is fully qualified and working in the most competitive environment. Not a bad testimonial, but that’s nothing compared to what Ian Beveridge did for me.

TESTIMONIALS

Alex, November 14th 2015

(General announcement from the school headmaster...

names changed to protect minors)

...On a very different note, life continues as it should and I am delighted to announce some excellent representative sport news with four members of the A****** College Ski team selected to be part of the England Schools National Squads for their respective age groups. Congratulations to Alex Ligety, James Vonn, Don Maier and Trevor Miller. A fine achievement.

Léonie,

Luke,

Florence

and

Ella

Venables,

13th November 2015

"As a family with differing needs from 'Speedy Gonzales' to 'Mr Jelly', Ian's unique approach has transformed our skiing. The maverick of Espace Killy, Ian, has a passion for excellence on the slopes that has inspired us to work hard on our skiing. Through his and our grit and determination we are now able to all ski together confidently on any slope with a good awareness of technique and are currently growing in confidence off piste."

Chantelle Willey, March 27th 2014

What can I say about Ian and my new found ability to ski!? I couldn't have done it without him.No amount of French ski school lessons would have ever got me to where Ian did in 2.5 days. I was fed up of skiing and had told my partner that this was the last time I would go. Now I am the one trying to convince him that we can fit another long weekend in before the season ends and we have only been back for 5 days! I literally can't wait to go again. Ian makes skiing completely logical and accessible. Every lesson is tailor made to you and your ability and nothing is too much trouble. In addition to being a great instructor, Ian is an incredibly knowledgeable guy and the whole thing is fascinating and fun.If you have never skied or have struggled or are fed up of trying to 'snowplough' safely down a mountain, I implore you to book a lesson with Ian!

Ayesha Malik, February 24th 2015

We took our seven year old skiing for the first time and really wanted him to learn the correct way from the very beginning. This wasn’t an easy mission as everyone wants to teach beginners snow plough!! Snow plough to stop and snow plough to turn, give it a few years and then try to break the bad snow plough habit! We invested in Ian’s teaching and were delighted with how easy it was for our son to learn the correct way!! I am baffled by the snow plough obsession!! Thank you Ian, Finn completely LOVED his first week skiing and we are very happy that he’s not learned anything he later needs to “unlearn”!!!!

Okan Bahsis, February 7th 2014

Thank you very much for your teaching to our daughters. We can certainly see the development in Derin. The whole credit goes to your excellent teaching skills, techniques and patience.

The goal of MetaSki is to bring skiing out of the grip of superficial commercialism and to present people with a true Personal Development platform that is second to none.
The goal of MetaSki is to bring skiing out of the grip of superficial commercialism and to present people with a true Personal Development platform that is second to none.